


PokéPlan

by Anonymosquito



Category: DanPlan
Genre: Pokemon AU, The rating is for cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19421998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymosquito/pseuds/Anonymosquito
Summary: If you like the story and want to help when I’m taking suggestions, here’s my tumblr.https://aaanonymousquito.tumblr.com





	1. Bouta King Arthur This Bench

Fuck. 

That was all Stephen was thinking as he rounded the corner into a dead end. His pursuers had been chasing him ever since he left school. He had run through many back alleys and passed a multitude of shady people and Pokémon, only to lead to a dead end. 

He tried to turn around, hoping against hope that there would be another escape route. He was immediately met with a fist to the face. 

“Not so slick now, are you?” the bully he had dubbed “Jiggles” commented, shaking out his hand. The rest of his posse caught up, effectively trapping him in the back of the alley. 

“Who the fuck even uses that term anymore?” Stephen snapped back, rubbing his cheek. This earned him a kick in the ribs. 

“Shut up,” Jiggles jeered. He turned back to his friends and asked, “What do you think we should do with lil’ Steph today?”

“I got an idea,” Jiggles’ younger brother, “Wiggles” piped up. “You remember that old sword in the park?” This seemed to peek the group’s interest. 

“The cursed one?” “The one that eats souls?” “The sword that supposedly sucks the life out of whoever grabs it?”

“Yeah, that one,” he said. “How about we test those rumors, see if they’re true.”

“Now you’re thinking,” Jiggles said, a smirk coming to his face. 

Now, this sword was known to everyone who lived in the area. There were multiple signs around it that said not to touch it, go over or under the barriers that guard it, or to climb on the rocks that the sword is embedded in. 

Stephen also knows that there’s a plaque that has some poetic nonsense about the sword recognizing someone with a hero’s spirit or something like that. He didn’t care. He was still going to run his mouth, though. 

“What the hell ever; I’m going home,” he said, despite knowing they wouldn’t let him. He tried to push past them when a familiar sound and flash behind him made him freeze. 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Jiggles sneered, his Golett standing next to him. “Shadow punch,” he ordered to his Pokémon, who happily obliged. Stephen flew into the alley wall, ripping his shirt and scrapping him up. He could feel where it would bruise tomorrow from where the punch landed on his back. 

The bullies laughed and picked him up, starting to drag him towards the park, commenting on how hilarious he looked as he flew. 

By the time they got there, his jeans were ruined and his knees were scraped from being drug. The goons threw him at the foot of the pile of rocks. 

“Get up, loser.” “Yeah, get going.”

“Go on up and grab the sword,” Jiggles commanded him. Stephen slowly stood up and glared at him. The oaf’s Pokémon stepped up, sizing Stephen up. He reluctantly turned and lifted up the chain to step onto the rocks. He wasn’t looking to get any more injured today. 

He stepped up to the sword and admired it a bit. It had a bronze handle with a dirty ribbon blowing in the breeze. There appeared to be perhaps a gem of some kind in the hilt, but it was covered in years of dirt. The actual blade of the sword looked filthy and rusted, but it probably would have been a beautiful sword back before it was jammed in the stone. 

“Just grab it. What are you, scared?” Wiggles mocked. Stephen rolled his eyes. He’d heard the rumors, but stuff like that didn’t exist. 

With a bit of theatrics to sass the goons, he grabbed the handle. 

Immediately, the ribbon on it stopped blowing in the breeze and wrapped around Stephen’s wrist. It burned for a moment before it flew out of the stone when Stephen tried to pull away. With the sword still in his grasp, he watched the dirt crumbled away, revealing a silver blade and a blue sash with a lighter blue swirl pattern at the end. The last bit of grime crumbled away, revealing the light blue gem with a black spot in the middle. He then watched it turn to him like an eyeball. 

When their eyes met, Stephen heard a wispy, echo-y voice in his head say, “Hero…” as the sash loosened around his arm. 

If that wasn’t creepy enough, after Stephen threw it away from him, it stopped midair and started floating. It turned its eye to the pack of bullies. Jiggles was trembling and one of his friends looked like he was going to piss himself. 

“G-Golett, use Rollout!” Jiggle commanded. The Automaton Pokémon pulled its arms and legs into its body and started spinning, and flew at the sword, which Stephen now realized was a Pokémon. Before the ball of anger could reach the sword, a shadow reached out of the ground and grabbed it, throwing it to the ground. From his geeky phase where he learned as much as he could on Pokémon, Stephen recognized that as Shadow Sneak. That would be super effective on Golett. Sure enough, the Golett was having trouble getting up. 

“Get up, clayball!” Jiggles yelled at the struggling Pokémon. 

Upon seeing the blue robot stand, the sword started to glow, forming an orb in front of it, which then fired a beam of steel-colored light at the Pokémon. 

“Flash Cannon,” Stephen muttered. 

After the sword made sure that his opponent had fainted, it turned back to Stephen. Jiggles returned his Pokémon to its Pokéball and ran off, followed by his posse. 

The sword Pokémon floated back over to him wrapped its ribbon around his arm, despite him backing up. 

“Hero…” he hears again. 

“Look,” Stephen said, “I don’t know who or what you are, but I’m no hero. If anything I’d probably end up being a villain.”

“No, I am not wrong. You have the spirit of a hero,” the blade told him. “And if you managed to pull me from the stone, then that’s what the world needs.”

“I don’t think the worlds in any peril right now.” Just because he was freaked out that he was talking to a floating sword didn’t mean that Stephen still couldn’t give a little sass. “There isn’t any world ending events that I’ve seen in the news.”

“That’s where the most danger is, in the shadows. That is why you were able to pull me from the stone, so I can help exterminate them.”

“Right… Good luck with that.” Stephen started to shake the sash off his arm. 

“Wait-“ the sword somehow looked confused before Stephen got out of its grip and started climbing down the rocks. 

He started walking home and he looked behind him to see if the sword was following. What he saw was the sword reaching between cracks in the rocks frantically. It pulled out an ornate sheath and slid it over its blade before hurriedly floating after Stephen. 

He sighed. He felt that today was going to be a long day, despite it being almost over.


	2. Hosuh Becomes a Mom

Dammit. 

That’s what Hosuh was thinking as he picked himself off the ground. 

The group of bullies had left him alone after another kid grabbed their attention and they chased after him instead of continuing to push Hosuh around. He wished he could help, but he didn’t see where they went. 

He pulled out his phone to call his mom, but found that it was dead. All the power was gone. Hosuh thought back and one of the goon’s Magnemite drifting close to his pocket. It probably stole all of his phone’s battery again. 

He resigned himself to deal with it when he got home. But that also meant no music either. 

As he walked, he observed his surroundings. As usual, he was walking between the road and the woods. The woods on the edge of town always were full of so many Pokémon. As a kid, he would leave honey out for the bug types and watch a bunch gather around, sharing. He thought he could see a couple moving around right now. 

Hosuh looked back to the sidewalk and noticed a bush shaking a few meters ahead of him. He stopped in his tracks when he saw an Espeon step out of the brush. A moment after, an egg floated up behind the purple Pokémon. The Espeon sat down on the edge of the road and used its psychic power to drop the egg in front of it. 

At this point, Hosuh was hiding in the brush, watching. He didn’t like how hard the Pokémon had dropped the egg, but the egg probably belongs to it, so there was nothing he could do. 

Once its eyes locked onto something a distance away, it gently kicked the egg into the road and stepped back into the bushes. 

Now genuinely concerned, Hosuh stepped out of his hiding spot and started walking towards the egg. It was still a ways away when he heard an engine from behind him. When he looked, there was a car, fast approaching the egg. 

He broke out into a sprint, dropping his book bag and headed straight for it. 

Right before the egg got crushed, he leaped and rolled, grabbing it as gently as he could while still getting out of harms way quickly. The car slammed on the brakes but squealed away presumably when the driver saw he was safe. 

As soon as he got back on the sidewalk, Hosuh took some more time to inspect the egg. It was a silver egg with a lighter silver zig-zag pattern around its circumference. He turned it over, only to his horror to see a glowing, golden crack rippling up from the bottom. And it was spreading. 

Worriedly, Hosuh tried to hold the egg more gently, trying to slow the cracks, but they only got faster. Cracks completely covered its surface in seconds and it released a blinding burst of light. 

After Hosuh regained his senses, he realized that there was something fluffy in his arms. When he looked down at it, he saw the cutest thing in the world. 

In his arms was a bundle of silver fur with a lighter silver mane, long, pointy ears, and a fluffy tail. And when it- she- opened her eyes, she was the most precious thing Hosuh had ever seen. 

The moment was ruined a bit when the small Pokémon started to let out a shriek. It wasn’t one of pain, it was just the cry of a newly-hatched Pokémon. 

“Hey, sweet pea,” Hosuh said, trying to comfort her. He gently rocked on his feet a bit, hoping that would help soothe the baby Pokémon. He vaguely recognized it, but couldn’t quite tell what Pokémon it was. “There’s no need to cry.”

She quieted down a bit, just to some whimpering, and she snuggled into his shirt. A while later she finally calmed down and looked up at him again. 

“Hi,” Hosuh said awkwardly. The small fox-looking Pokémon just tilted it’s head in response. “I don’t know what to do with you. Do you want to go back to the woods?” As expected, however disappointing, he didn’t get a response. 

As a test, he gently put her down and took a step away. She looked up at him curiously and just stood there. When he took one step backwards, she took one step forward. He did the a few more times with the same result. 

“Do you want to come home with me?” Hosuh asked her. In response, she started wagging her tail and jumping on his legs. “Ok! Ok!” He laughed, picking her up. “First, let’s go get you a Pokéball.”

A few minutes later, and Hosuh was walking out of the Pokémart with his friend, who he realized was an Eevee, but a strange one, and a bag. He found a bench and started pulling things out of the bag. 

“So,” he began, “this is a Pokéball. I use this to catch you and then that means no one can take you away from me.” The small Pokémon was nodding along. “This is a Ball Capsule.” He pulled out what looked like a Pokéball, but was thin and clear. “They go over the Pokéball and you can put Seals on them to make a dramatic effect when a Pokémon comes out of the Pokéball. I got a Seal for you.” He held up what looked like a sticker in the shape of a heart. “Do you like them?”

The Eevee yapped in excitement and leaped at the Pokéball, disappearing in a flash. Hosuh watched the ball shake in his hands for a few moments before letting out a soft click. He excitedly put the Ball Capsule over it and put the Seal on before tossing the Pokéball and saying “Come on out, Eevee!” 

In a burst of hearts, Eevee came out of the Pokéball and leapt into his arms. 

“I’m glad you like it!” he laughed. “I’m lucky I found found it. The Ball Capsules and Seals are really only popular in Sinnoh. And guess what else I got?” He pulled the Pokéball belt out the bag. “It’s so I can conveniently carry your Pokéball around and always know where it is. It even has a special locking mechanism where it’s near impossible for anyone else to take it off!”

All this just made the evolution Pokémon all the happier, making her tail wag faster. 

Hosuh sat on the bench for a while more, talking to his new companion, until he noticed the time and had to rush home.


	3. Chapter 3

Son of a-

That’s what Dan thought as the doctor pulled out the hammer they use to test your reflexes. Nobody likes it. 

Dan had gotten to leave school early to have a doctor’s appointment. In other circumstances, it would have been a blessing to avoid the group that loved to pick on kids that either didn’t have Pokémon or the kids whose parents wouldn’t let them bring their Pokémon to school. In this circumstance, though, he had to go to the doctor. His mom had said that he was old enough to start making his own appointments, so this was his first time doing it himself. 

After the doctor finished banging his joints with the classic, “Perfect!” the lights started to flicker. 

“Damn, again?” the doctor muttered. 

“What is it?” Dan questioned. Shouldn’t a doctor’s office have backups against this type of thing?

“Some pests keep getting to the wires in the building,” Dr. Whatever-His-Name-Was grumbled. “There was a whole cluster of them last week. They all managed to get away somehow. And I’m always expected to deal with it.”

“Do you need to go take care of it?” Daniel questioned. He really didn’t want to be here for any longer than needed. 

“Yeah, but I can’t leave you here. Do you want to come watch me get rid of these ticks?”

Having nothing else to do, Dan replied, “Sure.”

They exited the room and went through some hallways before they reached a panel on a wall. 

“Stand back, kid,” the doctor said. Daniel stood a couple feet away, not knowing what he was standing back for. 

The doctor took out a screwdriver and slowly unscrewed the screws keeping it on the wall. Then he took out a Pokéball and released a Gastly. 

He motioned to his Pokémon and drew its attention to the panel. They both nodded at each other before the doctor pulled the panel off the wall while commanding it to “Use Toxic!”

Dan watched a bunch of small, yellow and blue Pokémon scurried away from the blast of poison. They were all pretty fast, but one wasn’t fast enough. It struck it head on and it fell to the floor. It looked up at all its friends scurrying away through the walls. 

“Man, only got one,” the doctor griped. He started to screw the panel back onto the wall. 

“What was that?” Dan asked. He moved closer and saw the tiny Pokémon, stranded laying on its back, and realized it was a Joltik. It was squirming it’s tiny, blue-ended legs in the air, trying to get back up. When it started to slow down, Dan realized that it was badly poisoned. 

“That is an infestation that we’ve been trying to deal with,” the doctor explained. He put his Pokémon back in its Pokéball and started walking away. 

“Aren’t you going to take care of him?” Dan questioned. “He’s badly poisoned.”

“Once it dies, I’ll send someone to clean it up,” he shrugged. That was not what Daniel expected to hear. 

“But he’s alive! We can help him!” he tried to explain. 

“It’s a bug type,” the doctor said, like it explained everything. “It doesn’t matter. It’s a pest that we have to get rid of.” Dan didn’t know why this tweaked him so much, but it did. “Now, come on, let’s get back to your room.” The doctor turned and started walking away. 

In a split second decision, Daniel scooped up the trembling Pokémon and slid it under his shirt, where he felt it latch onto he skin. It didn’t hurt, but he could feel it start pulling static electricity from him. He rushed to catch up with the doctor. 

He was almost done when he had left, so when he got back, all he had to do was answer some questions and sign something and he was good to go. 

He texted his mom and she said that she was outside. He grabbed his backpack and lunchbox from the waiting room, making sure not to squish his stowaway, and hurried to the car. 

“So how was it?” his mom asks when he got in. “Anything exciting happen?”

“No,” Dan lied, “not particularly.”

He pulled the tiny Pokémon out from his shirt, making sure his mom couldn’t see it. The little guy wasn’t doing too well. He looked like he was barely hanging on to life. Dan rummaged through his lunch and found his fruit salad. He picked a piece of a Pecha berry out and held it in front of the Joltik’s mouth. It was hard to tell where it is in all the fluff, but he could vaguely see it. 

The Pokémon managed a few nibbles, its body going ridged at the taste, but it seemed to be enough, as it relaxed out of relief and, luckily, not death. 

“So, why did you sit in the back today?” his mom questioned, startling him a bit. “You usually sit in the front.”

“I wanted the extra leg room,” he quickly made up on the spot. It wasn’t the smoothest, but it seemed to do the trick. 

Dan let himself zone out for a bit, looking at the small ball of yellow fluff that sat on his leg. He was still in bad shape, but he would get better. 

“Hey, mom?” he asked, out of the blue. “Why can’t I be a Pokémon trainer?” In response, he heard his mom sigh. 

“Daniel, we’ve had this conversation,” she said, exasperatedly. “You have to focus on your studies. Other kids interrupted theirs to go on a journey, thinking they’ll become some big-shot and strike it rich or be famous. But they can’t do it and have to give up. By then, they’re so behind and they can’t catch up in school, and then their life falls apart and-“ Daniel stopped listening to her rant and pulled the small bug type back under his shirt to get more electricity. 

Later that night, he grabbed some of his allowance money and said he was going for a walk. When he got out of the house, he let Joltik out from under his shirt. He had gotten a bit better, and had found a new favorite place in Dan’s hair. They had discussed as best they could, despite the language barrier, and the Joltik had said that he wanted to stay with Dan. 

The first place he went was the Pokémart. He bought a Pokéball and caught Joltik. Before Dan could even let him out, Joltik popped out of his Pokéball and landed on Daniel’s head. 

The next stop was the Pokécenter. He went in and walked out with a good-as-new Pokémon. 

By then, it was almost dark out and he had to head home. He knew his parents would never let him keep a Pokémon, so he decided to keep it a secret. When he reached his street, he reluctantly had to put his new companion back in his new Pokéball and go inside for a late dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story and want to help when I’m taking suggestions, here’s my tumblr.  
> https://aaanonymousquito.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

Early in the morning, far earlier than Daniel usually gets up, he’s already ready and almost heading out the door. His mom dragged him to the table and congratulated him on finally waking himself up. He scarfed down his breakfast and was gone.

Daniel heard his Pokéball open and felt Joltik land on his head. His Pokémon seemed to regret this, because Dan was jogging and he nearly got shaken off. 

“Joltik!” Dan nearly yelled. He skidded to a stop to let Joltik get a better grip. “Be more careful next time.” Joltik just excitedly gibbered, ready for Dan to go. 

Once they were closer to his school, Dan started telling Joltik why he was getting there early. 

“I wanted to use the battle courts to see how strong you are.” This got him a curious noise. “I want to know what moves you know, how powerful you are, how fast you are, important things for a trainer to know about their Pokémon.” He got a few squeaks that sounded unsure. “Just think of it as a time to show off,” he said. That seemed to help Joltik feel better. 

Soon enough, they had reached school. They had about an hour before classes started. Dan started to head over to the training equipment when someone stepped in front of him. 

“What do you think you’re doing on our battlefield?” one of his tormentors asked. He saw his Golett standing next to him and realized he was the group’s leader, who someone started calling “Jiggles” and the name caught on. “Hey, it’s you,” he sneered. “You bailed yesterday. We couldn’t find you. Did you run all the way home just to avoid us?”

“It’s not your battlefield,” Daniel said, choosing to ignore his jabs. “It belongs to the school and it’s free to use for everyone.”

“Yeah, if they have a Pokémon, so there might be a little trouble for you,” he mocked. 

It was at that time that Joltik decided to let himself be known. He jumped off of Dan’s head and started angrily jabbering at Jiggles. 

“I have a Pokémon now, so I have the same right to be here as you,” Dan motioned to his new Bug Type. 

Jiggle’s laughter attracted the attention of his posse. “You call that a Pokémon?” he got out between chuckles. “It’s so small! It’s a puny Bug Type!” 

“So what’s he’s a Bug Type!” Dan questioned. 

“Bug Types are weak! They’re not good for anything other than easy training,” he laughed some more. “Golett, just step on it.”

His Pokémon walked up to Joltik and lifted its foot over him, but Joltik jumped out of the way. To follow up, Joltik used Absorb, stealing some of Golett’s energy. Since it was a Grass Type attack on a Ground Type Pokémon, it was super effective. However, since Joltik isn’t that strong, it didn’t do that much damage. 

“That was great, Joltik, but I don’t think this is a good idea,” Dan said. The look on Jiggle’s face seemed to tell him that. 

“You think you can take me on in a fight?” he threatened. “You and your little tick?” His group of bullies came up behind him and started encouraging him on. 

“No, I don’t want to fight,” Dan started to explain before being cut off. 

“‘Cause it’s a fight you’re gonna get!” he shouted. 

“Stop!” someone shouted before he could give Golett a command. Everyone turned to see who it was. 

Another kid with long, grey hair was running towards them. In his arms was a Pokémon of the same color as his hair. It looked like an Eevee, but it was a different color. 

“Is that a shiny Eevee?” one of the bullies muttered. 

“I think it might be,” another answered. 

The grey-haired kid stopped next to Daniel and faced the bullies. 

“He said he didn’t want to fight, so back off,” he told Jiggles. He didn’t seem very confident, but he was there anyway. 

“You think you can waltz in here with a new Pokémon and tell me what to do?” he asked aggressively. 

“No, but you can’t tell him what to do,” he said, pointing at Dan. 

“You can’t tell me what to do!” Jiggles was yelling now. “Golett, use Rollout!” 

The blue Pokémon started spinning rapidly. Dan grabbed Joltik and held him close as the robot started to fly at them. 

Before it hit, they heard someone shout, “Use Shadow Sneak!”

Suddenly, a shadow reached out of the ground and grabbed Golett. It then threw it back at the bullies, causing a cloud of dust to rise in front of them. 

When the dust settles, they see that Golett is out cold. 

“Oh no.” “He’s back!” “He kept that weird Pokémon?” “It’s super strong; he’d be stupid not to.” The bullies were discussing and Dan and the grey-haired guy looked at where the shadow retreated to. It lead back to a floating sword next to a kid with purple hair and a mohawk. The kid said something to the sword and walked into the school building. 

The bullies started to retreat, worried that he may come back.

“You’ll regret this!” Jiggles called after him. He returned his Pokémon to its Pokéball and followed his group. 

“That was a close call,” Dan sighed. Joltik jumped up onto his cheek and thanked him for trying to protect him. 

“Yeah, it was,” the other kid sighed as well. His Eevee relaxed in his arms as the danger left. “Silver only hatched yesterday, so she’s not fit to fight,” he motioning to his Pokémon. 

“I only caught Joltik yesterday, so I don’t know how strong he is,” he said, moving Joltik from his face to his head. 

“Cool,” he replied. There was a bit of an awkward pause, then, “I’m Hosuh, what’s your name?”

“I’m Daniel. Thanks for helping me out,” Dan said. 

“I didn’t do much,” Hosuh replied. “All I did was tell him to stop, and it didn’t do much.”

“But you still tried,” he said. “That counts for something.”

“Maybe,” Hosuh said, sheepishly. 

“I have an idea!” Dan suddenly said. “Why don’t you and Silver come and train with us? We can see how strong they are while getting some practice in. We still have a while before school starts.”

“That sounds good!” Hosuh replied excitedly. “I got here early so that I could register Silver with administration. We can’t have Pokémon out of their Pokéballs if they aren’t registered.”

“Oh,” he replied. “Do we need our parents’ permission to register a Pokémon?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good,” Dan sighed in relief. “I caught Joltik yesterday without my parents’ permission. They didn’t want me to have a Pokémon yet, but I had to.”

“Sounds complicated,” Hosuh said. “How about we go register ours together? Then we can come back.”

“Sounds good.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Did you see that kid’s Pokémon?”

“Yeah, that was a super rare Eevee.”

“Do you think it would make the bosses happy?”

“A Pokémon like that? Of course. Teenagers can’t properly get the joy out of things like that.”

“Then we should get it.”

————————

“Come on, Silver!”

Hosuh was having a run with his Pokémon on the way home. His parents were overjoyed when they learned that he got a Pokémon by himself. They were both Pokémon trainers when they were kids and wanted the experience for their son. 

Hosuh also wanted to be a Pokémon trainer, but he had never been good at battling. His parents had lent him Pokémon to try and catch his own, but he had never been able to beat them or attack wild Pokémon without feeling bad.

Now, he had his own Pokémon and met a new friend at school and he was elated. 

Him and Silver were having a good time until he heard fast footsteps behind him and a “CRACK” on the back of his head. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, listening to Silver cry out in fear. He turned his head to where the noise was to see her squirming in the arms of a person in a weird costume. 

“Silver,” Hosuh murmured. He felt himself blacking out, but his parter was in danger. He forced himself up on unsteady feet. His vision was blurry and it was hard to focus, but he had to get Silver. But when he looked up, the people had disappeared into the forest. 

“Silver!” Hosuh yelled and stumbled after them. 

————————

“You know that you can go away, don’t you?” 

All Stephen heard from behind him was the strange warbling that the sword did when it wasn’t wrapped around his arm. He guessed it was like the noises that other Pokémon made, but this was like if a sword was trying to speak. 

His parents were super happy when a Pokémon had taken a liking to him, and they gave him a Pokéball. He wasn’t planning on keeping the sword, which his parents told him was a Honedge, but when the sword heard that he would stay with Stephen, it basically caught itself in Stephen’s name. 

His parents were both Pokémon trainers and took on gyms in their youth, and wanted the same for Stephen, but he didn’t feel like he would be a good Pokémon trainer. He wasn’t good at friends and didn’t think he would be good at caring for and forming a bond with a living thing. 

He heard it rush up behind him and felt the ribbon wrap around his wrist. 

“I can’t leave,” the wispy voice said. He absolutely didn’t tell his parents that he heard Honedge talk in his head. “You were chosen for a reason. You are meant to be a hero.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Stephen muttered. “Let’s just get home for dinner. Do you even eat?”

Before the sword could respond, the bushes ahead of him started shaking. 

“Stay back,” Honedge said and floated in front of him to observe. 

There seemed to be minimal danger, because all that came out was a small, silver Pokémon, which appeared to be a baby. 

“It appears to be harmless,” the sword said once it was back on his arm. “However, it appears in distress.”

That was certainly true, because the Pokémon had its head hung and it’s ears down and seemed to be crying. 

“Do you know what it’s saying?” Stephen asked Honedge. 

“Yes, I am a Pokémon, after all,” it stated. “It keeps crying ‘Mama’ and ‘Mommy’ repeatedly.”

“It’s probably lost,” Stephen stated. “Hopefully it finds its mom soon.” He was about to walk away when suddenly the small creature suddenly collapsed. 

And he may have liked to make jokes about not caring for anything, he couldn’t leave an injured baby on the side of the road. 

“Hey there,” he said gently, pulling the silver Pokémon onto his lap. He reached into his backpack until he found the Pokémon first aid kit his parents had told him to bring in case he got in a battle. “What happened to you?”

The small fox-looking Pokémon looked up at him, terrified, until she realized that he wasn’t going to hurt her. It started to talk to Honedge about what happened while Stephen fixed her up. 

“She says that some strange people knocked her ‘mama’ out, grabbed her, and ran into the forest. There, they told her about how she would bring a lot of joy to people and that she should be happy they got her away from someone who wouldn’t appreciate her. She then tackled one in the face and the other had a Pokémon that wrapped vines around her and beat her up, but she bit it and ran away, and then she met you,” Honedge translated once the Eevee was bandaged. 

“Wow,” Stephen said. That was a lot for such a small Pokémon to go through. “They probably wanted her because she’s a shiny Eevee.”

“A shiny?” the sword questioned. 

“Yeah,” Stephen started, “shiny Pokémon are like regular Pokémon, except they look different and they’re super rare.”

The Eevee had been giving a weird look for a while and made a few noises at Honedge. When Stephen turned to the sword for translation, it somehow was looking a bit embarrassed. 

“Um… she asked who you were talking to,” they replied. “You see, I talk to you through a psychic link, so while I talk to you, nobody else can hear. So it’s been looking like you’ve been talking to nobody.”

“Great,” he deadpanned. He repeated what Honedge said and Eevee looked less concerned. “So, how about we go find your mama, huh?” Stephen needed to get his mind off the fact that this was his life now, and this was a great distraction. “Where do you think your mom is?”

“She said ‘Probably in the forest because Mama saw me get taken and would follow,’” Honedge translated. 

“Great,” Stephen said. “Let’s start there.”

————————

About an hour later and no luck. 

Since the people who stole Eevee might’ve still been there, they were on high alert, but after a while, they were tired. 

“Eevee, are you sure she’s in here?” Stephen asked. 

“She says that she believes her mother would come get her,” Honedge translated. He let out another sigh. 

Then they walked into a clearing and were met with someone. 

Honedge was immediately on guard and the grey-haired stranger seemed apprehensive. 

Suddenly, Eevee jumped out of Stephen’s arms and landed it the stranger’s with a happy cry. 

“Silver!” he cried as he caught the Pokémon. He hugged her and her tail was wagging in delight. 

“Is that who she was…” Stephen trailed off.

“It appears that this trainer is who Eevee considers her mother,” Honedge clarified. 

Once they were done with their happy greeting, the guy turned to Stephen with a determined look on his face and said, “What were you doing with Silver?”

“Well, you see-“ Stephen started. 

“Wait a minute,” he interrupted, “aren’t you the guy who helped us out this morning? With Jiggles and his Golett?”

Thinking back on it, this guy did have a silver Pokémon like one of guys he helped this morning. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Stephen replied. “We found Eevee injured and patched her up.”

“Thanks,” he said. After a small pause, “I’m Hosuh, by the way. And this is Silver.”

“I’m Stephen. And this is Honedge.” The Pokémon in question used its ribbon to wave. 

Hosuh suddenly put Eevee down, reached into his pocket for a pen and some paper, scribbled something down on it, and handed it to Stephen. 

“There’s my address,” he said. “I trust you enough since you helped Silver, and I was whacked really hard on the back of the head earlier.”

Hosuh then proceeded to pass out. 

“Shit.”


	6. Chapter 6

Dan was getting a little worried. 

He and Hosuh had agreed to meet in front of the school early in the morning, but he’d been waiting for fifteen minutes and he hadn’t shown up. 

Joltik was sitting on his shoulders, pacing over the back of his neck to the other shoulder and back. He was excited to continue training with Silver, but she wasn’t there yet. 

Daniel felt his phone buzz and checked it. 

“Sorry, I can’t make it to school today. I’m not feeling well,” the message from Hosuh read. 

“Sorry, Joltik,” he said, “It doesn’t look like they’re coming.” He showed Joltik the message and he drooped with disappointment, barely clinging to his shirt. “We can still go train, though.” Joltik perked up a bit. 

He was heading to the battle ground when he heard a familiar voice. 

“Why do you keep insisting that I’m something I’d never be?” he heard. 

He turned around and realized that it was the guy who helped them when Jiggles was about to attack them. He appeared to be talking to his Pokémon, who was a floating sword that had a ribbon wrapped around his wrist. 

He looked at his Pokémon for a while, as if listening, before letting out a sigh. 

“Just because I helped one Pokémon back to their trainer doesn’t make me a ‘hero’,” he said, using air quotes. “Besides, I couldn’t just leave Hosuh laying there after he passed out. Anyone would have done it.”

The sword floated around, as if it was frustrated, before it suddenly stopped in its tracks when it spotted Daniel staring. It looked back at its trainer, and a moment later he looked towards him and quickly shook the ribbon off his arm and speed walked into the building. 

“That was weird,” Dan muttered. Joltik started gibbering at something the stranger had said. He kept pointing at where he’d been and then pointing at Daniel’s phone. Dan looked at his phone, and the message from Hosuh was still open, then it clicked. 

“He said something about Hosuh.” Joltik nodded. 

He decided to follow him, wanting to ask about Hosuh and see why it looked like he was having a conversation with his Pokémon. 

Sure, he could have messaged Hosuh back and asked what was wrong, but he wanted an excuse to see what the stranger was doing. 

He headed into the school building and Joltik moved to his head for a better vantage point. He managed to catch the blue ribbon of the sword fluttering behind a corner. He ran after them peeked around the corner. 

“I told you someone would see us,” the purple-haired guy whispered to his Pokémon. “Now people will think I’m crazy.” The sword wrapped its ribbon around his arm and there was a pause. “He is? I didn’t get a good look at him.” There was another pause, and he sighed. “So hopefully he won’t tell anyone.”

Dan decided that he was being a bit creepy, and decided to pretend he hadn’t heard the odd, one-sided conversation. 

He casually walked past the hallway and glanced down the hall. He pretended that he just saw him and turned towards him. 

“Hey,” he said awkwardly. He’d never been great at acting. “I heard you say something about Hosuh earlier. I’m a… friend of his.” That technically wasn’t a lie; he just didn’t know if Hosuh considered him a friend. “I was just wondering if you knew why he’s not at school today.”

“Yeah, I met him yesterday after school,” he replied. “Some creeps apparently knocked him in the back of the head with something hard and grabbed his Eevee.”

“Are they alright?”

“Yes; Silver managed to escape and we found her and got her back to Hosuh. But then he passed out and we had to carry him home.”

“Well, that’s good,” Dan replied. “I never introduced myself. I’m Daniel, and this is Joltik.” He bent his head down so they could see him hiding in his hair. 

“I was wondering why your hair was moving. I’m Stephen, and this is Honedge. I pulled him out of the rocks in the park and he’s been following me ever since, no matter how much I tell him he can leave,” Stephen replied. 

Honedge floated up to Dan and extended its ribbon, like it was asking for a handshake. 

“I don’t think you-“ Stephen was cut off by Daniel’s yelp when his hand stung a bit from touching the ribbon. “I was trying to tell you that Honedge has a reputation for draining people of their life force when their ribbon wraps around them.”

In the meantime, Honedge started dancing around excitedly and wrapped its ribbon around Stephen’s arm. In response, he winced and used his other hand to grab his head. 

“Quiet down!” he whisper-shouted. Honedge kept moving, like it was very happy at a new discovery. “What are you talking about?” A pause and then Stephen groaned. “Not again.”

“What’s is going on?” Daniel was confused. Didn’t he just say that when it’s ribbon wraps around you, it steals your life force?

“According to Honedge, because I have a ‘hero’s spirit’ and pulled it from the stone, I’m the chosen one, or something. It says that it would only be able to be pulled out if the world was in peril. Now, he’s going on a rant about how you also have a hero’s spirit.” That was a lot to take in. But one thing stood out to him. 

“According to Honedge?” Dan asked. Stephen seemed to realize what he said and massaged his temples as if he had a headache. 

“When he wraps his ribbon around me, I can hear it talking to me in my head,” he sighed. 

“Huh,” Dan said. He didn’t exactly know what to think of that. “Cool,” was all he said. 

Joltik said something, and the sword responded in some sort of warbling. 

The bell suddenly cut through their conversation and they had to head their separate ways, but Honedge insisted that Stephen and Daniel exchange contact information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of our heroes have finally met. What could these new discoveries mean? Find out, next time.


	7. Enemies are Approaching

Hosuh was feeling much better today. He had stayed home yesterday because his head still hurt, but he could go back to school today and maybe train some more with Daniel. 

Yesterday, he got to spend some quality time with Silver; cuddling, playing some not-too-physical games, and brushing. 

“I’ll race you!” he told Silver. He started to jog, but she quickly got in front of him and sat down with a stern look on her face. She yapped at him, not angrily, but enough to tell him to stop. 

“No running?” She nodded. She hopped on his leg until he picked her up and she jumped to his shoulder. “Do you want me to take it easy so my head won’t hurt?” She nodded again. “Alright. A nice walk to school instead.”

At a slower pace, they made their way to school, Silver looking over the world from her vantage point while Hosuh enjoyed the scenery as he usually did. However, they couldn’t help being wary, looking behind them every once in a while and listening for unusual sounds. 

They managed to get there early, as he promised Dan he would since he missed yesterday. Hosuh found him talking to Stephen in front of the training courtyard. 

“Hey guys!” he said, picking up his pace while staying slow enough that Silver doesn’t fall off. “Do you two know each other?”

“Well, we met yesterday,” Stephen replied. 

“I heard him talking to Honedge about you, so I asked him how you knew each other,” Daniel followed up. “Then Honedge… took a liking to me and had us swap phone numbers.”

Honedge let out a warble and held its ribbon up like it was thinking, then extended the ribbon for a handshake. 

“No, wait-“ both Stephen and Dan started to say as Hosuh grabbed the ribbon. He quickly let go from the sting that resulted from the contact. Honedge started twirling excitedly and seemed very pleased with itself. 

“Not again,” Stephen muttered, before Honedge wrapped its ribbon around his arm and he grabbed his head. 

“Are you okay?” Hosuh asked worriedly. 

“Daniel? Can you explain?” Stephen asked. He then kept telling Honedge to be quiet, and that he couldn’t hear himself think. 

“Basically, he can hear Honedge talking to him in his head,” Dan summed up. “It’s apparently been telling Stephen that he’s the chosen one for something. Yesterday, it pulled the handshake trick on me and said that I ‘have a hero’s spirit as well.’ It acted like this then, too.”

“Yep, he keeps excitedly repeating that you also have the spirit of a hero,” Stephen grumbled. “He said ‘like souls usually find each other,’ so he got a hunch.”

“Huh,” was all Hosuh could think to say. 

They talked for a while more, but the bell cut off their conversation and they had to head their separate ways to class. Before they split up, though, they agreed to meet back in the same spot after school. 

————————

Many hours later, after the last bell rang, Daniel was the first to get to the meeting spot. A minute later, Stephen, and then Hosuh, appeared. 

During the morning announcements, the principal had said that a special group was going to be doing a presentation in the courtyard after school. A stage had been set up during the day and there was a microphone in the center. 

“What do you think the announcement is going to be?” Hosuh asked. 

“I have no idea,” Stephen replied. 

“Hold on, I think someone’s going on stage,” Dan interrupted. 

A woman with purple hair that matched her outfit walked out on stage. Her shirt and pants were matching in that they both had a purple and white design and the colors were blending like clouds. On the sleeves of each, a gold band was around her wrists and ankles. In her hair, a gold ring sat on her head like a halo. The most odd thing was that her shirt had a pair of very well sewn wings on the back. 

After she got on stage, six people followed her. All of them had the same costume, except two had silver bands instead of gold and four had bronze. Only the ones with the silver bands had wings, but they were much smaller than the woman’s. 

The woman stepped up to the microphone and cleared her throat to get the student’s attention. 

“Hello, children,” she said. “I bet you are all wondering who I am. I am an admin of Team Base, an organization dedicated to bringing as much joy to this world as we can. The reason we’re here is so that we can give you an event to make you happy.” A murmur ran through the crowd. “Now, now, children. We need to finish our announcement.

“We will be hosting a dance tonight. It will be at eight o’clock and go to ten. Bring friends and bring Pokémon!” she finished with what sounded like fake enthusiasm. The group of kids didn’t really respond; a few started heading to the exit. “There will be free food and drinks.” The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers and a few people went to message their parents. 

“That sounds… interesting,” Stephen said. 

“Yeah, interesting,” Dan followed up. 

Honedge wrapped its ribbon around Stephen’s wrist and said, “I don’t trust them.”

“What do you think- Hosuh?”

They both turned to look at their friend. He was ridged and holding Silver close to his chest. His Pokémon looked scared and angry at the people on stage. 

“That was them,” he whispered. 

“That was who?” Stephen asked him. 

“The people who tried to take Silver.”


	8. Attack and Retaliation

“Joltik, go spy on them,” Daniel whispered to his partner. He skittered behind the wall to the courtyard and out of sight. 

The group of three were hiding outside their school, scouting out the mysterious Team Base. All the other students had gone home and the courtyard was on lockdown while they set up the dance. 

“Are you absolutely sure it was them?” Stephen asked Hosuh. 

“Yeah, I recognize the colors from when I saw them with Silver,” he responded. Silver was being clutched to his chest because both her and Hosuh needed some comfort. 

“If they tried to take your Pokémon, they might try to take others’ Pokémon,” Dan said. “We’ll have Stephen and Honedge translate what Joltik found out when he gets back.” 

A few minutes later, Joltik came skittering back and chattering incessantly. Honedge floated towards him, letting out the warbles that are its Pokémon cry. Joltik paused to take a breath and slowed down. A minute later, after Joltik finished, Honedge floated to Stephen to tell him what was reported. He got an alarmed look on his face as his Pokémon spoke. 

“They’re going to steal everyone’s Pokémon,” he told them. “The plan is to scout out every person and Pokémon that shows up and use a Psychic Pokémon’s power to take all of them away.”

“What?!” Hosuh shouted. “Why would they do something like that?”

“Apparently, they need more resources to help them reach their end goal, and they consider getting already trained Pokémon better than catching wild.”

“What’s their end goal?” Daniel asked. Stephen looked at Honedge. 

“He says that Joltik didn’t hear that.”

“That’s fine,” Dan said. He picked up Joltik and gently scratched the back of his head. The electric bug melted into the touch. “We got enough information for now. We need to warn someone about this.”

“Who are we going to tell?” Hosuh asked, the attention turning to him. “The head of school? The police? What reason do they have to believe three kids over an organization? We can’t tell them that the Pokémon told us. They’d never believe it.”

“Your right,” Dan sighed. “And if we try, we might get accused of trying to stir something up. They might not let us go to the dance and there’d be nothing we could do.”

“Then we need to come up with a plan,” Stephen said. “How can we stop them?”

Their thinking was interrupted when they heard a stomach growl. Silver looked sheepish but looked up at Hosuh. 

“Let’s discuss it over dinner,” Hosuh suggested. “I know a good cafe around here. We all should have dinner, anyway.”

“The dance is in around three hours and we haven’t eaten since lunch,” Daniel pointed out. “I think our Pokémon might be hungry, as well.” Joltik affirmed this with excited chatter. 

Stephen looked at Honedge with confusion on his face. “You’re hungry, too? How do you even eat?”

At the cafe, Hosuh brought out a few pieces of paper and pencils to help plan. 

“So how will they be scouting out Pokémon?” Stephen asked. It was quiet for a bit while Honedge talked with him. “Alright. They’re going to have someone walking around to every Pokémon they see, ask their trainer about them, and then pat the Pokémon twice. This is a signal to a hidden Psychic Type Pokémon to lock onto it. Once every Pokémon has been locked on, a separate signal will be given and they’ll all be yanked away in one swoop.”

“How can we stop them?” Daniel asked. 

“I might have an idea,” Hosuh said. “We know that they’ll be using a Psychic Type, so Honedge has the advantage, being a ghost type. Joltik can sneak around because he’s so small. Silver isn’t very strong, but she has good backup moves.”

“What are you thinking?” Dan asked. 

“I think… if they don’t see our Pokémon, they can’t signal for them to be taken. We hide our Pokémon, try to find where the Psychic Type is being hidden, then we try to knock it out before it can be given the signal.”

“That could work,” Stephen commented. Before they could discuss further, the waitress come out with their orders. 

Before they knew it, the sun was low in the sky and kids with their Pokémon were showing up for the dance. One of the battle courts was the “dance floor,” but it just was surrounded be fancy laser-lights and colorful strobes. There were tables set out with food and drinks for both trainer and Pokémon. One of the most interesting spectacles was the members of Team Base on the stage from before singing karaoke. It was the ones with bronze rings singing while the ones with silver rings were watching from backstage with different expressions. 

Beforehand, Joltik had tightly nestled into Daniel hair, Silver was hiding in Hosuh’s book bag, and Honedge had insisted to be on Stephen‘s belt, acting like a normal sword. 

They entered the courtyard and started to scan their surroundings. Sure enough, there was a figure in purple and white wandering through the crowd, talking to people and petting their Pokémon. 

“How can we find out where the Psychic Pokémon is hiding?” Hosuh asked. 

“Let’s see if they give it away by looking at it,” Dan said. Sure enough, a minute later, the Team Base member looked up to a window on the second floor of the school building. It was dark and the glare from the lights outside made it hard to see in. 

“We can’t get up there,” Hosuh sighed. “The doors automatically lock at six.”

“We can’t, but Joltik can,” Stephen said. “Joltik,” he addressed, “can you go find a way for us to get to the second floor?” The Pokémon in question made a noise of affirmation and crawled off Daniel towards the building. 

“Now we just have to wait,” Hosuh said. 

“Hello, young men,” someone said, surprising them. It turned out to be the member of Team Base who was scouting the Pokémon. “Are you boys having fun? Where are your Pokémon?”

Dan and Hosuh started to stumble over their words so Stephen took over. 

“We don’t have any Pokémon,” he said. “We’re not big fans of parties or anything, but this is alright.”

“You don’t have any Pokémon? What is that on your belt?” he asked. Now it was Stephen’s turn to trip over his words. 

“It’s- uh- for a costume I’m making,” he pulled out of thin air. “I didn’t have time to bring it home after picking it up, so I just brought it with me.”

“Ah, well, enjoy the dance,” he said and walked away. 

They let out a collective sigh of relief when he was out of earshot. 

“That was close,” Hosuh said, resting his hand on his bag for Silver. 

Suddenly, the music shut off and the lights focused on the stage. The purple-haired admin walked out from behind the curtains and up to the microphone. 

“Welcome back, children,” she said. “I see that a lot of you decided to attend and I am overjoyed that you’re having fun. I want to thank you all for helping us spread happiness throughout this world, but I’d also like to inform you that there’s more you could do, without even knowing.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Stephen said. 

“Just by showing up tonight, you may not feel joy by what follows, but it will lead to endless happiness one day, once we have achieved our goal.” She suddenly clasped her hands together, causing a clap to echo through the speakers. This was soon followed by a “BOOM” from the school building as chunks of bricks and glass rained down. 

Every Pokémon was encompassed by a glowing aura and was lifted away as their trainers shielded themselves from the rubble. From the new hole in the building, a yellow Pokémon floated out. It landed next to the admin and, as the dust settled, revealed it was a Hypno. It’s eyes glowed with psychic power as the group’s companions floated above it. 

“From this day forward, these Pokémon will help us in the necessary steps to bring eternal joy,” the admin said into the mic. 

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” a boy, who turned out to be Jiggles yelled. “Golett, use Mud-Slap!” The Automaton Pokémon fired a ball of mud at the Hypno, but it was redirected and hit a Togedemaru, doing critical damage as its trainer cried out. 

“Please, do not fight this. We will be taking our leave now.” She turned to leave. 

Stephen pushed through the crowd, followed by Daniel and Hosuh. 

“No, you won’t,” he shouted. She paused to look at him with an amused smile on her face. 

“Why is that, child?” she said almost mockingly. 

“Because it looks like Hypno’s too busy to fight,” Hosuh said, unzipping his bag. Silver Hopped out onto his shoulder. She had a look of determination on her face as the cries of the trapped Pokémon reminded her of her own. 

The admin looked perturbed that they had missed a Pokémon, but she smirked. 

“You foolish child,” she said. “You cannot beat me. Hypno may be busy, but I have backup.” The Team Base grunts lined up and each released their own Pokémon. 

“Well,” Hosuh said, “as it happens, I’m also the backup.”

Stephen pulled Honedge from his sheath and aimed. “Use Flash Cannon.” A beam of steel-colored light shot out from the sword, blowing all the opposing Pokémon away. 

Dust settled and it was just Hypno, the admin, Stephen, Hosuh, and Daniel. 

Dan scanned the ground and surrounding area until he spotted a flash of blue against yellow in the perfect place. 

“That’s enough!” the admin yelled. “Use Hypnosis!” Hypno took some of its focus off the Pokémon to swing its pendulum towards its attackers. 

“Joltik, use Screech,” Dan said. An ear-splitting, horrendous sound startled everyone, especially Hypno, who the sound was emanating from. Joltik had stuck himself under its white collar when he found it in the school building. 

With its concentration broken, it couldn’t keep the captive Pokémon suspended anymore. They started dropping to the ground, where the lighter ones were caught by their trainers and the heavier landed themselves. Joltik hopped off and ran to his trainer. 

“No!” The admin yelled. “You won’t get away with this! Hypno, use Psybeam!” It shot off a multicolored beam of energy towards the group of kids. 

Stephen let the sword go and tossed it the sheath. “Use Protect!” Honedge caught it and formed a barrier that deflected the attack. “How about we wrap this up?” He glanced back at Dan and Hosuh, each nodding. 

“Use Spider Web,” Dan told Joltik. A net of sticky silk shot out at Hypno, trapping it in place. 

“Use Helping Hand on Honedge,” Hosuh told Silver. She yapped and a light shot from her to Honedge. 

“Use Shadow Sneak,” Stephen said. Honedge’s shadow crept underneath Hypno, and it reached out and attacked. With Hypno not being able to move and the extra power from Helping Hand, it did critical damage. 

“I won’t stand for this!” the admin shouted while she returned her Pokémon to its ball. 

“Admin Fauna,” one of the grunts addressed her, “we must retreat.” She growled under her breath but hit a button on the ring of her sleeve. 

Suddenly, a Tropius landed next to the stage. She hopped on its back as various other Flying Type Pokémon snatched up the grunts. 

“This will not be the last you hear of us,” she barked at the group and flew off.


	9. Aftermath

In the aftermath, the police were called. Officers questioned witnesses and an ambulance tended to any injuries.

Parents were coming to pick up students and some walked home after giving their statement.

Everyone was up and moving, going from car to car, talking, or leaving. All except three.

Daniel, Stephen, and Hosuh were sitting on the school steps. They were given blankets and were talking idly.

“Good thing Joltik managed to stick to Hypno,” Hosuh said. Silver was in his lap, falling asleep and he stroked her fur. “That Hypnosis would have knocked us all out and they would have gotten away.”

“Well, it was Honedge that landed the winning blow,” Dan responded. Joltik sat on top of his head, attempting to eat a Pokébean half his size.

“Hey, that attack would not have been as powerful without Silver’s Helping Hand,” Stephen pointed out. Honedge was floating above him, keeping watch in case any more Team Base members showed up.

“Daniel Lim!” a female voice shouted. The person in question’s eyes widened.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. He turned to the woman that was marching up to them. “Hey, Mom!” he said nervously.

“Don’t you know how worried I’ve been?” she scolded. “I saw on the news that your school had been attacked, and you didn’t answer my messages!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see them,” Dan apologized. His mom looked like she was about to start yelling again when her eyes landed on something.

“Is that a tick in your hair?” she asked, horrified. She swatted the top of his head, knocking Joltik onto the ground. A piece of his Pokébean lodged in his throat as the rest splat on the ground next to him. He started making strangled noises and reaching towards his face.

“Joltik!” Daniel exclaimed. He knelt down and picked Joltik up. He pat the electric insect’s back gently until he coughed out the piece of Pokébean. He took a few deep breaths before collapsing into Dan’s hand.

“You know it?” his mom asked.

“Of course I do,” Dan angrily responded. “You ruined his dinner.”

“Is there a problem over here?” a police officer that had approached them asked.

“No, sir,” Dan’s mom responded. “We’re sorry if we caused you any trouble.”

“Well, actually,” the officer said, “by all accounts, your son and his friends got rid of the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to every witness, they managed to keep their Pokémon from being stolen and used them to fight off the culprits,” he said. 

“His Pokémon?” Dan’s mom said angrily, turning to her son. He held Joltik to his chest protectively.

“Hey, without his help, everyone’s Pokémon would have been stolen,” Hosuh defended. 

“We’ll finish this discussion at home,” she announced, seeing how everyone seemed to be against her. “Get in the car.”

“We’ll have to call him tomorrow to see how that goes,” Stephen said, watching them walk to her car. 

“In the meantime, we should also go home,” Hosuh said, starting to yawn. “I don’t want to worry my parents.”

“I have to go home, too,” Stephen said, checking his phone. “My parents saw the news and want to make sure I’m okay.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow,” Hosuh said. He picked up Silver carefully to not wake her up and started to walk away. 

“Come on, Honedge,” Stephen said to his partner. He floated down and wrapped his ribbon around his trainer’s arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. I’m back at school and don’t have much time to write. There’ll be a longer chapter next week.


	10. Gifts and Assignment

School was canceled the next day. The damaged to the building had made it unstable and made it more expensive to fix it than it would be to rebuild it. 

A call went out to parents that the school would be closed for an unknown amount of time. Parents weren’t too happy while the students were ecstatic. 

Stephen and Hosuh had met up at the cafe they went to the previous day. They had invited Daniel, but he was grounded. 

“Sorry, guys,” Dan said on the video call. “I wanted to go, but my mom has me locked in my room. She wasn’t too happy with me after I broke one of her biggest rules. The only reason she’s letting me keep Joltik is because it’s against the law to force someone to release their Pokémon.”

“That sucks,” Hosuh responded. “My parents loved Silver when I came home with her. I don’t know what I’d do if they told me to I couldn’t keep her.”

“I wasn’t too keen on keeping Honedge when I found him,” Stephen said, “but both he and my parents convinced me to have him stick around for a while, and look what we did.”

“I know; we kicked ass last night,” Dan laughed. “The way they-“

“Excuse me!” a voice cut him off. The boys turned around to see a middle aged woman running up to them. She was average height, wore glasses, and was wearing a lab coat. She skidded to a stop, her reddish-brown hair frazzled, and paused for a minute to catch her breath. “Are you the children that defended the school last night?”

“Yes?” Hosuh said suspiciously. 

“Great!” she exclaimed. “I’m Professor Cedar, this region’s leading Pokémon researcher. I’ve been searching for young people like you to help me in my research. I was wondering if you’d like to help me with a new project I’ve been developing.”

“What is it?” Dan asked from the phone. 

“It’d be better if I showed you,” she said. “Meet me in my lab this afternoon. I hope to see you then!” She sped off in the direction she came from.

“What do you think about that?” Stephen asked. There was some clacking of keys over the phone. 

“Well, it looks like she’s telling the truth,” Dan said. “She’s apparently quite famous for her research on the bond between Pokémon and their trainers.”

“Sounds cool,” Stephen said. “Are you going to be able to come?”

“I don’t know,” Dan responded. “Maybe if I convince my mom that a Pokémon professor wants my help, she’ll let me.”

“Hopefully she does,” Hosuh said. “We’ll call you when we’re going to head over there.”

Later, in the afternoon, Daniel told his mom that a professor wanted him to help her with research, and she basically threw him out of the house to go meet her. 

He met up with Stephen and Hosuh outside the lab. 

“What do you think she wants us to help out with?” Hosuh asked as they walk inside. 

“I don’t know,” Stephen said. “Hopefully there’s no needles.”

“Aw, are you afraid of needles?” Daniel teased. 

“No, I just don’t like them,” he scoffed. 

“There you three are!” they heard a familiar voice say. “Come on in, my lab is this way.” They saw Professor Cedar peaking her head out of door, waving them over. 

As they entered the lab, they looked around in amazement. 

A skylight filtered light in, shining on a pristine grass patch on one side of the room. Pokémon ran around, playing with each other and running around Professor Cedar. Machines whirred and blinked, doing an unknown number of things. 

“Welcome to my laboratory,” she welcomed. 

“It’s so cool!” Hosuh exclaimed. 

“Isn’t it?” she responded. “In order to do my research, I need to be close to Pokémon, and what better way than having them at work with me?”

“So, what did you want us to help out with?” Stephen asked. 

“Right, back on track!” she said. She opened a drawer on her desk and pulled somethings out. “Here you go.” She handed one to each of them. 

“What is it?” Daniel asked, examining it. It was an orange, metal sphere with an antenna. There were two black dots on its surface, resembling eyes. 

“Just hit that button on the back,” she said. She flipped it over and showed him the small circle on the back. He pressed it and flipped it back over. 

The eyes blinked for a few seconds before it settled on a shade of blue. It started floating as a voice spoke from a speaker. 

“Booting up,” a robotic voice said. A smile appeared on the metallic surface. “Hello!” it happily addressed. “I’m Holo-Rotom-Dex! I’m an upgraded version of the Rotom-Dex developed in the Alola Region. Who might you be, user?”

“Whoa,” Dan said. “I’m Daniel. Nice to meet you, Rotom.”

“Please,” it said, a sudden hologram shining out of its eyes, displaying a screen, “input user data, User-Dan.”

“A Pokédex?” Hosuh asked. 

“That’s right,” Professor Cedar said excitedly. “Now go on, set your’s up.”

Stephen pressed the button on his and watched it boot up. The eyes blinked and settled on a lighter shade of blue than Dan’s. 

“Booting up,” it said. The same smile appeared. “Hello, I’m Holo-Rotom-Dex! I’m an upgraded version of the Rotom-Dex developed in the Alola Region. Who might you be, user?”

“Your turn,” the professor said, nudging Hosuh. He pressed the button and flipped it back over. 

The eyes blinked and turned a shade of red, unlike the other two. It suddenly let out a shock, causing Hosuh to fumble and drop the Rotom. He tried to catch it, but it started floating before it hit the ground. 

“Booting up,” it said. “Hello,” it said, lacking the excitement that the other two had. “I’m Holo-Rotom-Dex. I’m the better version of another Dex from Alola. Who are you?”

“Oh, you got this one,” Professor Cedar said, a sympathetic look on her face. “This one lacked behind in training, yet somehow made it. It was never very motivated and can be rude.”

“That’s ok,” Hosuh said. “My name’s Hosuh. I hope we can get to know each other better.” He looked at Rotom with a smile. 

“Whatever,” the Rotom waved off. He showed the hologram screen that Daniel and Stephen were filling out. “Just fill this out and we can get on our way.”

“So, Professor,” Daniel started, “You never explained what you wanted us to do.”

“Well, I wanted your help to test out my new Rotom Pokédex,” she said. “I made them to be a more compact version of the Alolan Pokédex with more features. I wanted to make sure that they can function even better, and the best way to test is in the field. That is why I want to send you three on a journey to explore this region, meet new Pokémon, and go on adventures together.”

There was a moment of silence. 

“But, what if our parents won’t let us?” Dan asked. 

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m sure you can come up with compelling arguments. Your school is currently shut down, right? So you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll get to bond with your partners, meet many new friends, and you’ll get stronger when training.”

“My mom still most likely won’t let me,” Dan sighed. He was about to say something when she interrupted. 

“Tell her I’ll write you a recommendation letter for helping me with research. Do you think that’s good enough?”

“It just might be.”

“Excuse me,” Dan’s Rotom-Dex said. “I am sensing a Pokémon somewhere on your person, User Daniel. May I do a scan?”

“Sure,” he responded. He looked down and moved his hair around, revealing Joltik sleeping on top of his head.

“Oh my!” Rotom exclaimed. “Good we caught it when it’s sleeping. Joltik can drain my battery in a few minutes. Let me pull up my data.” A holographic screen shone out of its eyes, displaying a loading icon before pulling up pictures of Joltik with different graphics of data around the edges. “Joltik, the Attaching Pokémon. In cities, they live in large groups, draining electricity from power cables and electric grids, causing trouble for many people.”

“Well, I have different data than yours,” Stephen’s Rotom-Dex said, floating over. It displayed its own screen and read its own description. “Joltik, the Attaching Pokémon. They attach to large Pokémon and absorb extra static electricity they produce, storing it in an electric pouch. They like to stick to people they like.”

“Well that’s interesting,” Professor Cedar said. “Why don’t you all go ask your parents if you can go on an adventure and we can cover this later.”

“Alright,” Hosuh said. “Let’s go guys! Rotom, would you like to rest in my bag?”

“Yeah, floating drains my battery,” it said, zipping into a pocket in his book bag. Stephen’s and Dan’s Rotoms wanted to stay out as they split up to speak to their parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this chapter is so late. I’ve started school up again and joined a few AP and Pre-AP classes that I’ve been struggling with, not giving me much time to write. Once I get used to the work load, I hope I’ll be able to update more.


	11. First Capture

“Which way are we going?” Stephen asked. 

The trio are on their way to the next town over. When they had asked their parents about going on an adventure, all of them agreed eventually. They packed up and left the next morning. 

“I believe this is the right path,” both Stephen’s and Daniel’s Rotom said, floating in one direction. 

“So, what should we do while on the road?” Dan asked. “I spy? Charades?”

“Or we can let our Pokémon out to walk with us,” Hosuh said. He pulled Silver’s Pokéball from his belt and opened it. In a burst of hearts, she appeared from the ball. 

“Whoa!” Stephen exclaimed. “How’d you do that?”

At the commotion, Joltik poked out of Dan’s hair. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. He watched Hosuh explain the Ball Capsule and Seal the the others, promising to look for some for them in the next town. He was about to burrow back into Dan’s hair, but he heard another sound. He looked around, trying to find its source. He looked up, squeaked in fright, and dove back into Daniel’s hair. 

Hearing Joltik’s squeak, Dan looked up, trying to determine what made him scared. He found out when he heard a squawk and got a peck on the head. He was greeted with a face full of tan and brown feathers. 

“Jesus!” he yelled, ducking. The tiny bird Pokémon started scratching at his head, trying to get Joltik out of his hair. 

“I can help!” Stephen’s Rotom said. It projected a holographic screen from its eyes showing a picture of the bird. “Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. These Normal/Flying Types are very docile and don’t like to pick fights. They prefer to stay in tall grass and forage for food, such as bugs. They flap their wings to stir up dust clouds to blind predators.”

“It doesn’t seem very docile,” Hosuh commented. 

“I think that’s because it’s trying to get Joltik,” Stephen said. “Rotom said they eat bugs.”

“Can you shut up and help me?” Dan shouted. He’d been swatting at the Pidgey as it chased him for a while. 

Stephen pulled out his Pokéball and let Honedge out. 

“Use Shadow Sneak on the Pidgey,” he commanded. 

“Wait-“ Hosuh said, realizing his mistake. 

Honedge’s shadow reached out towards the bird. When it attacked, it passed right through it. 

“It’s a Normal Type, you-“ Dan was cut off by another attack. He pushed the bird out of his face and commanded Joltik, “Use Thunder Wave!” 

Joltik hopped off his head and sent a wave of electricity at the Pidgey. Static crackled on its feathers as it seized up, falling to the floor. 

Dan had Joltik stick it to the ground with web as he brushed himself off. 

“Thanks for the help,” he said sarcastically to his friends. Hosuh looked sheepish while Stephen just shrugged with a “You’re welcome.” 

Suddenly, Hosuh’s face lit up. 

“Why don’t we catch it?” he said excitedly. “We going on this adventure to study Pokémon, so why don’t we capture it?”

“Sure, we can do that,” Stephen said. 

“You go ahead,” Daniel said. “That thing tried to eat Joltik. You can have it. The only problem is that the Pidgey is getting away.”

“What?” They turned around to see the Pokémon shakily flying into the woods, having escaped from the web. 

Hosuh started running after it. He looked back and yelled, “I bet I can catch it first!” 

“Bet all you want, I’ll still take your money,” Stephen called after him, giving chase as well. 

“Wait!” Dan called after them, running to keep up. Joltik slid down his back and slipped into his bag to avoid being shaken off. 

They ran through the trees, dodging branches as bug Pokémon scurried away. The Pidgey eventually landed on a branch to rest, letting the three catch up to it. 

Hosuh stopped under the branch and thought what to do next. When Stephen and Dan caught up, he sheepishly turned to them. 

“Can I borrow a Pokéball from you?” He asked. “I forgot to pack some.”

“You forgot Pokéballs?” Stephen laughed before sighing. “So did I.”

“Are you kidding me?” Daniel sighed. He took his backpack off opened it. Joltik looked up from inside and waved. Dan opened the pocket he packed the Pokéballs in and was about to grab one out. Joltik suddenly went rigged and dove into the pocket behind Dan’s hand. 

Before he could question, he heard another squawk. A projectile flew into his bag at high speeds, sending it flying out of his hands. 

There was a fearful squeak from the bag and another squawk followed by a flash. 

“Was that…” Hosuh muttered. 

“Are you serious?” Stephen groaned. Dan picked up his bag and searched inside. There were the packed Pokéballs that were still shrunken, Joltik struggling to get off his back, and an enlarged Pokéball that was flashing and shaking. He grabbed it and pulled it out of his bag. It went still with a final click, indicating a successful catch. 

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” he sighed. He opened the Pokéball and the Pidgey appeared in a flash. Static still crackled through its feathers, indicating that it was still paralyzed from the Thunder Wave earlier. 

“Wow!” Daniel’s Rotom-Dex exclaims, his voice getting higher. “Your very first capture! I’ll take a picture!” Its eyes flashed, accompanied by a clicking sound. 

“I’ll take pictures as well,” Stephen’s Rotom joined in. 

“Do you want to take a picture?” Hosuh asked his Rotom, opening up the pocket on his bag. It huffed, floated out of his bag, snapped one photo, and drifted back. 

“Here’s some important data for you,” Dan’s Rotom said, a holographic screen shining from its eyes. “Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. A Normal/Flying Type. They are a common sight in forests. They have a very sharp sense of direction, allowing them to return to places they’ve been without error, no matter the distance they’ve traveled.” Rotom opened up a new menu. “The data I’ve gathered on this Pidgey so far: male, average size, knows the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, and Gust.”

“Wonderful,” Dan said, mildly sarcastic. 

They suddenly heard a soft rumbling from somewhere. At its source was Pidgey. Specifically his stomach. Dan sighed and opened a different pocket of his backpack, pulling out his food. 

“I’ve got some berry salad. It has a lot of different types of berries, so it can heal any status condition.” Before he even finished, Pidgey was hovering over the container, waiting for him to open it. As soon as the lid was off, it was perched on the edge, gobbling up the fruit. 

“He was definitely hungry,” Hosuh said. Stephen looked at him, then to the Rotoms observing Pidgey, and then at their surroundings. 

“Hey, guys?” he spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. “Which way is the path to Seconde Town?”

“I think it’s that way,” Hosuh said, pointing to Stephen’s right. 

“No, I think it’s that way,” Daniel said, pointing to the left. 

“So we’re lost,” he sighed. Pidgey shook his head, cleaning his face, and chirped, raising a wing. Honedge floated to Stephen, wrapping his ribbon around his arm. 

“It appears that Pidgey wants to help,” the sword translated. “Rotom did say that Pidgey are remarkable at remembering directions.”

“True,” Stephen said aloud. “We should let Pidgey lead the way.”

“Yes! A wonderful idea!” his Rotom exclaimed. “With its sense of direction, Pidgey should be able to lead us to path.”

“Alright,” Dan said. “Pidgey, lead the way.” The bird took off, flying slowly so they could follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t get it, shadow sneak is a ghost type move and ghost type moves have no effect on normal type Pokémon and vice versa.


	12. Legends

They’d been following Pidgey through the woods for a few hours, much longer than it took them to get lost. 

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Stephen asked. 

“Pidgey are known for their remarkable sense of direction,” his Rotom-Dex reminded him. 

“I remember, but what if just this once, he’s wrong?” he asked. “Pidgey,” he called to the bird Pokémon, “are you sure this is the right way to the path?”

The bird suddenly stopped midair. He flew to the closest branch to face Stephen. He let out some chirp and squawks, looking to Honedge to decipher the message. The sword wrapped its ribbon around his arm and a moment passed. 

“What do you mean, ‘Did you want to go to the path?’” he exclaimed. “That’s where you were told to take us!” Pidgey responded with more squawks and a flap of his wings. 

“Where’s he been taking us?” Hosuh asked concerned. 

“He’s apparently been leading us directly to Seconde Town through the woods instead of taking us back to the path.” Daniel pulled a paper map out of his bag and looked over it for a minute. 

“The path turns in the other direction to avoid a lake, so it’s a lot farther from us that it was earlier,” he said. His Rotom-Dex looked at the map and made a few beeping sounds. 

“I calculate that it will be faster if we continue on this way than it would be to find the path again,” its robotic voice stated. 

“Well, even if this way is shorter, we should probably find some shelter,” Daniel said, shaking the map. He suddenly pulled out a Pokéball and returned Pidgey to it. 

“Why?” Hosuh asked. He was answered when a drop of rain landed on his head, quickly followed by more. “Oh.” He held Silver closer to his chest and leaned over her the protect her from getting wet. 

Both Rotom-Dexes that were out complained about getting their circuits wet and went into their owners’ bags. 

“There aren’t any buildings for miles,” Stephen said. Honedge had floated above him and used Protect to act as a temporary umbrella. “Where could we possibly find in this?” He gestured to the rain around them. 

“Maybe there are some by the lake,” Dan replied. He had to speak louder to be heard over the escalating rain. He glanced at the map once more before putting it away. “We should be parallel to it by now, so we should head that way.” He pointed in the direction sideways to where they’d been walking. 

“Alright, let’s hurry up,” Stephen said. The Protect umbrella had faded, leaving him to freely get soaked by the rain as he started walking. He was quickly followed by his friends. 

The terrain started to change, the flat forest floor sloping up and down as they went along. Trees disappeared as they inclined and reappeared as they descended. 

Finally, as they got to the top of a particularly large hill, a few meters above the below tree line, they saw the blue of Lake Inter. A few rows of trees separated them from the lake. 

“Do you see anything?” Stephen asked. He couldn’t see much through the haze the rain was making. He turned around to look for answers from the other two, but saw something that concerned him much more than the rain. 

“No, I don’t see anything,” Daniel said. 

“Um-“ Stephen was cut off. 

“Maybe there are no places around the lake,” Hosuh pointed out. 

“Daniel?” Stephen said. Hosuh looked at him and then at the person in question, noticing what was wrong. 

“What?” he asked. In the rain, Joltik had gone into his bag to avoid the downpour. This meant that it was only the two and their Pokémon who noticed how, despite it being wet, Daniel’s hair started to stand up, like it was full of static. His eyes followed where they were looking until he couldn’t look any farther up. He reached towards his hair and got a spark when he felt it. 

“Oh,” he sputtered. He quickly backed up as the energy build in the area, the clouds lit up, and a bolt of lightning shot out of the clouds right in front of him. Daniel was send flying back, causing him to tumble down the hill.

Both Stephen and Hosuh called out as they were blinded. They blinked the spots out of their vision and saw another hazard. Despite the moisture, a flare had managed to light on some of the grass, sparking a flame that burst up. An unfortunate path of dead grass lead the blaze directly to Hosuh. He stumbled back enough that he fell over, down the slope. He curled his body around Silver as they rolled down the hill so she wouldn’t get hurt. 

“Hosuh!” Stephen shouted. He tried to take a step, but rain made the ground slick, causing him to fall and roll down the hill as well. Honedge quickly followed him to the tree line at the edge of the lake. 

Dan was the first one to fall and the first one to get up. He could barely see anything because his vision was covered in spots from the lightning strike. He took his bag off and searched through it. He found his small, fuzzy Pokémon in one of the pockets, looking dazed and dizzy from the tumble, but other than that fine. 

“Hey, Joltik?” he said. The Electric Type looked up at him. “I can’t see much right now, so can you be my eyes for a while?” He squeaked in response, saying yes. He climbed us his side and into his hair, only complaining a little about it being soaked. “Alright, let’s go find them, Rattatatouille,” he chuckled to himself. 

He started walking back to the hill when a sudden, loud shout sounded from behind him. He swiveled around to try and find the source, having trouble doing so with his vision. He eventually spotted a black and white figure moving behind some trees, making it out to be a wild Pangoro. 

The panda-like Fighting Type was looking around wildly and calling out. It appeared to be searching for something in the downpour. 

“Let’s try to avoid them,” he whispered to his partner. They started to slip away when they felt a familiar sensation from somewhere nearby. 

Daniel looked back at the Pangoro, squinting to see what he feared. Despite the Pokémon’s fur being soaked, it started to stand on end. It didn’t notice anything in its rampage. 

Suddenly, Daniel was stuck by an idea. 

“Joltik,” he said, “you absorb electricity, right? How much can you handle?” Joltik saw what he meant. He hopped down into Dan’s hand. He held out his arms as far as they could go, meaning “a lot.” “Alright, are you sure?” Joltik nodded in determination.

They ran towards Pangoro as the energy in the area built up. 

“Watch out!” he shouted, swinging his arm to launch his partner above the wild Pokémon’s head as the lightning shot out of the sky. It shielded its head as sparks flew above it. 

When the light faded, Joltik fell on top of the Pangoro‘s head. Absorbing that much energy wore him down a lot. The wild Pokémon gently picked the Electric Type up, holding him gingerly. 

“Joltik?” Daniel called. Pangoro looked over at him and then back at Joltik. They calmly went up to Dan, grabbed his hand, and set Joltik down in it. “Thank you,” he said. 

A snarl from behind them snapped them out of the moment. A silhouette of a huge, quadruped creature stalked out of the trees. It was almost as tall as Pangoro but even larger. 

A distant flash of lightning revealed its yellow coat, black markings, blue and black crest on its face lined with white fur that lead the color down its stomach, sharp fangs, bolt-shaped tail, and its light purple mane that billowed like storm clouds. 

Meanwhile, Hosuh was the second to get up. Silver looked up at him with concern. 

“I’m okay,” he assured her. She softly licked one of the scrapes on his face. “Thanks. Let’s get back to the others.” They smiles at each other before moving for a bit. Hosuh’s smile faded a bit as he realized that his partner’s face was being highlighted by red and orange. 

He turned around and realized a blaze had picked up in the forest. Fire had encompassed trees in the area, and one fell down. There was a battle between the flames and the rain as Hosuh heard a roar from the fallen tree. 

In the center of a burning ring created by trees, an Ursaring was looking for an exit. It tried to grab the fallen tree, but it quickly retracted its hands to shake them off from being burned. It tried to use a move on it, Rock Slide, but the tree was too strong, even on fire. 

“Hey!” Hosuh shouted. The Ursaring took its attention off the fallen tree and onto him. “Do you need help?” The bear-like Pokémon looked at him and nodded. It had a desperate look in its eyes. “Ok! Silver use Helping Hand.”

Silver leapt out of his arms and a white light shot out of her to the Ursaring. 

“Now use Rock Slide,” Hosuh said. “Please,” he added.

Ursaring summoned a large boulder, an even larger one than before, and smashed the tree into burning splinters. 

“Silver, use Sand Attack,” he said. She kicked up some dirt from the floor and sent it over the shards, putting them out. 

The Ursaring stepped out of the ring of fire and towards Hosuh. They extended a paw towards him for a handshake. Hosuh was already small compared to the Pokémon, but their paw was way larger than his hand. Despite this, he did his best and even helped Silver give a small one. Ursaring gave her a small pat on the head in thanks as well. 

Their exchange was interrupted when they heard a deep growl from the dying flames. A quadruped stepped out of the blaze, the fire reigniting around it. The light highlighted its brown fur, its billowing mane that looked like it was made of smoke lined with grey plates, its shackle-like bands around its legs, and its red, gold, and silver faceplate. 

In the meantime, Stephen was the third to get up. He took more time because he’d slammed his side into a tree on the way down. Honedge helped him up since his side ached. 

“Help me get back to the others,” he groaned. 

“Alright. They’ll most likely go back up the hill since the rain has put the fire out,” Honedge said in his head. 

They’d just started walking when they’d heard a cry. They turned around and searched through the rain for the source, but they didn’t see what made it until the small creature made another noise. 

Stuck in a large puddle of mud was a small Teddiursa. It was trying to pull itself out, but that only got it stuck worse. 

“Dan and Hosuh can wait,” Stephen said. He started walking slowly towards the little bear Pokémon, both because his side hurt and to not scare it when he was spotted. 

When he noticed a mudslide start to slide down another hill towards the little one, he sped up as much as he could, no longer caring about seeming frightening. 

The Teddiursa still hadn’t noticed Stephen, but had noticed the mudslide. It started frantically scrambling to get free, crying out for help as the earth approached. 

Stephen dove into the mud, grabbed the Pokémon, and jumped out of the way of the landslide, landing in another puddle of mud. 

They watched the mud slow and settle as it reached the bottom of the hill. He let out a relieved sigh and looked down at the Teddiursa. It was clutching at his shirt and near tears. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. Honedge wrapped his ribbon around his arm to translate the response. 

“They say thank you,” he translated. “They do not like to be muddy, however, and asked for a little more help from you.”

“Alright, we can go wash you off in the lake,” he said. “I don’t like being dirty, either, so I can get clean too.”

Stephen carried Teddiursa through the tree line to the lake. He set the bear down in the water and helped them wash the mud off their back and paws. Stephen cleaned his sleeves off in the rain.

A roar interrupted them. They looked out at the lake; a quadruped form leapt across the water, a glow following wherever it stepped. 

When it got close enough, they could make out the slim figure covered in a blue coat of fur with a white underbelly and diamond patterns on its sides. On its head was a blue, hexagonal crest that covered part of its purple mane that flowed in similar ways to aurora borealis. Two ribbons flowed from its backside to its head, despite how it was running. 

At the same time, all three Pokémon jumped over the trainers on top of the hill they’d fallen off of. All three groups reached the base of the hill at the same time. 

Above them stood the three legendary beasts, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Each had their own symbolism in their story, the lightning that started the fire, the fire that burned, and the rain that put the fire out. 

Each let out a roar before leaping out of sight, disappear into the forest. 

Daniel, Hosuh, and Stephen ran up the hill with the wild Pokémon they helped, Daniel being assisted by Pangoro because he still had trouble seeing. 

When Ursaring and Pangoro saw each other, they ran towards the other and collided in a tight embrace. Hosuh walked up to Dan and they exchanged a few words. 

A short while later, Stephen got to the top of the hill with Teddiursa in his arms. The small bear jumped out and ran up to the two larger bears. 

After the reunions, they shared their stories and Stephen helped translate that the family of bears had gotten separated in the storm and encountered their troubles. 

By the time they went their separate ways, the storm had cleared up as the sun was shining through the clouds. 

Dan had called Pidgey out and told them the direction they needed to go in to reach town when Stephen’s Rotom-Dex floated out of his bag. 

“Sorry I had to go, but if my waterproofing failed, it could really mess up my- what happened to you?!”


	13. Arrival

When the trees suddenly grew sparser and more tree stumps appeared, they got the view of buildings not far from. 

“Oh, thank god,” Stephen said as they stepped out onto a sidewalk. The sun was beginning to set and the three of them were exhausted. 

They hadn’t stopped since their encounter with the three legendary beasts. Stephen still had mud, now dried, on his pants and shirt and Hosuh had more and larger scrapes than the other two. 

“Let’s get to the Pokémon Center as soon as possible. I just want to crash,” Daniel said. His vision cleared up on the walk to town. Joltik had gone back into his Pokéball for a dry place to rest. 

“Actually,” Hosuh said, “there’s a cafe my parents told me I should go to. I wanted to go check it out with Silver and get some dinner.”

“Really?” Stephen asked. “Don’t you want to go clean up first?”

“We’ll be quick,” he replied. He put Silver down and she circled around his legs, eager to go. “We can get it to go. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Ok,” he responded and waved as they headed in the opposite direction. 

“We’ll meet back up at the Pokémon Center,” Daniel called to him, getting a thumbs up in response. “Alright, I think the Pokémon Center is this way,” he said, pointing at a direction perpendicular to where Hosuh went. 

“Actually, I think it’s this way,” Stephen said, pointing the opposite way Hosuh went. 

“Five bucks says it’s this way,” Dan bet. 

“It’s on,” he grinned, and they went their separate ways. 

Hosuh pulled out his phone to pull up a map of the town. He’d headed in the right direction and was only a few minutes from the cafe. 

He fixed his hair, taking it out of the ponytail, raking his nails through it to fix of some of stray grey hairs, and putting it back up, and then let his arms rest at his sides. They were a bit sore from holding Silver for a few hours. She trotted at his heels, happy to be moving after being held for so long. 

After a comfortable silence, they arrived in front of the bakery. Hosuh held the door for Silver with a “Ladies first,” accompanied with a small bow to be dramatic. She mockingly bowed back before strolling in. They giggled to each other until an employee came from the back. 

Hosuh placed his order and went to pay, but he spotted his partner staring at one of the displays. Behind the glass, there was a showcase of three different sizes of Poképuff. She was starting at the kind decorated with pink icing and filling, the sweet variety. 

“I’ll also take a small sweet Poképuff,” he added. 

“That’ll take a bit; we just finished a batch and need to cool and decorate them, and that’ll take about ten minutes,” the employ said apologetically. “Will that be alright?”

“Of course, take your time,” he said politely. He went to a table to wait with Silver while they were finishing up in the back. 

After a few minutes, the pastries were almost done, and an elderly man accompanied by an Altaria walk in. The large, cloud-like bird patiently followed after him. 

He went up to the counter and greeted the employee. He asked for “The usual” as his Altaria peered into the display case, staring at a blue pastry the same shade as its feathers. 

The employees got a paper bag and began scraping the fallen crumbs from the pastry case into it, then going to the back and returning with the bag half full. He said the price to the man and he reached for his wallet. 

He patted and re-patted his pockets a few times and looked through them before sighing in defeat. 

“I forgot my wallet at the house,” he admitted. 

“I’m sorry, sir, but if you can’t pay, I can’t give it to you,” the worker apologized. 

“No, it’s alright,” the man said. “We’ll come back another day. Come along, Taru, let’s go back home.” He began to slowly make his way back to the exit. The employee went to throw the bag away. 

“Actually,” Hosuh spoke up, “I’ll buy the crumbs.” Both looked over at him, stopping what they were doing. He pulled out how much the worker said they were, plus enough for a blue pastry. 

“Thank you so much, young man,” the elderly man told him as he was handed the bag of crumbs. He gave the Altaria, Taru, the bag with the Poképuff in it. 

“It’s no problem, mister,” he responded. “I was wondering, though, what are the crumbs for?”

“Please, call me Walter,” he said. “And they’re for Taru’s flock. Her singing attracts birds from all over, particularly Swablu. I started feeding them and now it’s become the highlight of my evening.”

“That sounds really nice,” Hosuh said. “Swablu has always been one of my favorite Flying Type Pokémon. They’re so friendly and look like adorable cotton balls.”

Walter gave a gentle laugh. “They’re even more precious when they land on your head.”

“Order for Hosuh,” the employee interrupted. He handed two bags, one for his dinner and the other was the pink Poképuff. 

Silver started excitedly jumping at his legs, her tail wagging, asking for her treat. 

“No, Silver; dessert after dinner,” he told her. 

“Is this little one your’s?” Walter asked. “Why, I’ve never seen an Eevee quite like her.”

“She’s a shiny Eevee, I believe. She’s quite rare, so I’m glad I got her,” he explained, bending down to pet her. “What about your Pokémon, Taru I heard you call him earlier.”

“Well, he isn’t really mine,” he said. “He belonged to my late granddaughter. She caught him and trained him for her dream career as a Pokémon performer. After she passed, her parents couldn’t bear to have a constant reminder of what they lost, so I took Taru in. He’s a really big help for me in my old age,” he sadly explained. 

“Oh,” Hosuh didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need. I’ll be taking my leave now. We’re going to go to the park to feed the bird Pokémon. Unless you’d like to join us?”

“Sorry, but I have to get back to my friends,” he apologized. “But it’s been great meeting you. Bye,” he said, leaving the cafe. Silver trotted along at his ankles as they went back the way they came. 

“He was nice,” he commented to Silver. She nodded in agreement. “Do you know what a Pokémon performer is? He said that’s what his granddaughter wanted to be.” She shook her head. He took out his phone and looked it up. “Oh, cool. It’s like a beauty contest performer, but more complex.” Next he looked up where the Pokémon Center was. 

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived. Hosuh went to open the door, but they paused when they heard something. 

In the distance, they heard a humming. A beautiful, melodic tune drifted over the town, invoking a sense of wonder in those who heard it. 

Hosuh heard trilling and looked up. Flying in the direction of the noise was a flock of Swablu. He smiled up as they flew over his head. 

After he checked into the Pokémon Center, he found the room the other two were in. Stephen looked like he also just got there as he handed Daniel five dollars, looking even more tired than when he last saw him. Honedge was leaning against a wall, eye closed and already asleep. Hosuh looked at him questioningly and got a halfhearted glare in response. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said before going to take a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much editing, so if you find any mistakes, please point them out so I can fix it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it took so long for an update! I needed a break from updating for a while, but I’m back!

“You could just look up the location on your device,” Honedge said. 

“I could,” Stephen responded. “But will I? No. I’m determined that it’s this way.”

“It is never a good thing to be overconfident,” the sword warned. 

“I know,” he sighed. “But we made a bet, and if I looked it up, that would be cheating. At least, that’s how I see it. Once we’re absolutely sure that this isn’t the right way, we’ll look it up.”

“Alright,” the sword simply responded. 

That’s how they got lost in the middle of a small suburb. 

“I believe now would be a good time to look it up,” Honedge said. 

“Yep,” Stephen replied, getting his phone out of his bag. He pressed the power button, but it didn’t turn on. He was going to press it again, but the screen displayed a message that it was out of battery. “Well, shit.”

“How do you plan on finding your way now?” the Pokémon asked. 

“We could-“ He was cut off by the sound of someone trying to get their attention. 

“Hey,” a quiet voice whispered. They looked over to see a small boy poking his head out from a hole under a wooden fence. “Are you a Pokémon trainer?”

“N-um-yes,” Stephen stuttered. He still was used to saying no to that question. The kid gasped in delight and started squirming under the fence. 

“Do you wanna challenge our Pokémon Gym?” he asked excitedly, coming out from the hole. 

“Not really-“ Stephen tried to say, backing away from the advancing child. 

“Great!” the boy cheered. He grabbed his hand and started dragging him towards the gate in the fence. 

Stephen was lead through a backyard and to a surprisingly large shed behind a house. In front of it was a sloppily painted sign that said “Seconde Town Gym” in neon purple and green paint. 

The child flung the door open and yelled, “Guys, I found a challenger!” A few pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to stare at him, followed by multiple cheers. 

“Alright!” the oldest looking kid cried. His hair was a deep red, clearly dyed from the blond roots showing from where his hair parted. He wore a purple blanket tied around his shoulders like a cape, a black T-shirt, and shorts with a neon green splatter pattern. He hopped on top of a bench at the back of the shed and dramatically turned to flare his cape out. “Welcome to Seconde Town’s very first gym! I’m Gym Leader Pons and I run this place. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s what we’ve got right now.”

“But I don’t want to fight; can you just tell me the way to-“ Stephen was cut off again. 

“Wait, I forgot,” Pons said. “This is a Poison Type Gym.” Stephen paused. 

“Wait,” he said. “You dragged someone with a Steel Type Pokémon,” he motioned to Honedge, “into your Poison Type Gym.”

“Yeah. So?” Pons asked. There was a chorus of “Yeah”s, “Yes”s, and “Yep”s from the other kids along with one wearing glasses nodding along. 

“How old are you all?” Stephen asked the room. There were multiple replies of “Six” and a few “Seven”s, but Pons was the oldest at eight. “I’ll make a deal with you. If I win, you tell me where to go to find a Pokémon Center.”

“And if I win?” he asked. 

Stephen shrugged. “You’re a Gym Leader. You get the victory.” 

“Fair enough,” he responded, pulling a Poké ball out of his pocket. The other kids moved out of the way to give them as much room as possible. Pons threw the ball and a Weedle popped out. Honedge floated forward off of Stephen’s arm and prepared for battle. 

“Weedle, use String Shot!” Pons commanded. The bug Pokémon shot a string of sticky silk out at the sword in an attempt to slow its movement. 

“Use protect,” Stephen responded. A transparent barrier formed in from of the Pokémon as it raised its sheath in front of itself. The silk attached to the barrier and fell to the ground after it faded away. 

“Hey! That’s no fair!” Pons cried. His Weedle looked quite outraged as well. 

“No, it’s a strategy,” Stephen responded. “You have to learn to get around them. Honedge, use Shadow Sneak.” A shadow shot out from the Pokémon and reached out of the ground to strike the bug, defeating it in one hit, causing its trainer to cry out in frustration. He returned Weedle and sent out his next Pokémon, a Gulpin. 

“Gulpin, use Pound!” Pons shouted. The green Pokémon leapt off the ground and went to strike Honedge. The attack passed right through it, since Normal Type attacks have no effect on Ghost Types. 

“Flash Canon,” Stephen said. A ball of silver-colored energy formed in front of the sword and shot a blast at Gulpin. The smoke cleared to reveal the fainted Pokémon. 

“Oh, come on!” Pons shrieked. “You’ve taken out two of my Pokémon and I haven’t even got one of yours,” he whined. 

“I only have one Pokémon,” Stephen responded. His opponent’s face lit up at that news. He pulled out what seemed to be his last Poké ball. 

“Then, we’ll just need to knock it out, and then I win,” he said. “Go, my strongest Pokémon, Nidoran!” A small, blue, mouse-looking creature appeared from the ball. 

“Alright, Honedge, use Swords Dance,” he ordered. Transparent swords glided around Honedge, raising its attack power. 

“Use Scratch,” Pons said. The attack passed through Honedge again. 

Stephen sighed, “Normal Type-“

“I remember,” he was cut off. “Use Poison Sting!” Nidoran shot a stinger drenched in poison at the sword, too close for it to protect itself or dodge. 

The barb bounced of its metal body, landing harmlessly on the floor. 

“Poison Type moves don’t affect Steel Types either,” Stephen shrugged. “Use Shadow Sneak.” The shadow that reached out of the floor took out the small Pokémon in one hit. “You really picked the wrong person, or in this case, with the wrong Pokémon, to challenge while you’re so inexperienced.”

“But we could barely even hit your Pokémon,” Pons whined. “And when we did, it went through or bounced off.”

“Pons,” Stephen cut through his hissy fit, rubbing his face and running a hand through his purple hair. “Type advantages are super important for anyone to know, especially for people specializing in certain Types. From what I saw, it looks like your Pokémon only knew Normal or Poison Type attacks. Neither of those affect Honedge, so the result was already sealed. But once you learn, through study or experience, I’m sure you’ll be a great Gym Leader.” He ruffled the younger kid’s hair. “Now, may you please tell me which way the Pokémon Center is?”

The Poison Type specialist shook his head and wiped his eyes. “Before you depart, dear challenger,” he said dramatically, “please at least give us your name and allow us to give you one of our custom-made badges.” 

He sighed, but complied with the request. The children who had been excitedly watching the battle started cheering his name, except the one wearing glasses; that child had a notebook out and was scribbling across it in pen. 

Pons dug through his pockets, pulling out candy wrappers before pulling out a circular object. He tossed it into Stephen’s hands and gave him a moment to observe it. It was one of those pretty cheap pins that had the wobbly clasp on the back. It had a neon green splatter pattern with a purple drop in the center. 

“Oh. Thanks,” Stephen said. 

“Now, if you want to get to the Pokémon Center, just take a left from the gate, then walk until that big intersection, and then take a right,” he said, drawing a crude map in the air with his finger. “It should be almost straight ahead from there.”

“Great,” Stephen sighed, “I owe someone five dollars.” He went to reach for the door handle to leave, but a small hand grabbed onto his jacket sleeve. 

It was the kid with glasses who hadn’t said anything. They tore a page out of their notebook and handed it to him. On the page, instead of the notes he was expecting, in large, flowing cursive, was his name written out with more ink around the original letters to give more detail. The kid had put a “v” instead of “ph,” but it was still great handwriting. 

“Um, thank you,” Stephen smiled. 

“That’s Jim,” one of the younger kids on the sidelines said. “We don’t know his actual name, but we just call him Jim because he’s always here. At the Gym.”

“He can’t talk,” said another kid. “But he loves writing.” 

“Alright. Bye Seconde Town Gym,” he waved through the open door. “And don’t kidnap anyone else, please.”

On his way to the Pokémon Center, his Rotom-Dex floated out of his bag, talking about how he had a grand time gathering data on four new Pokémon, confusing Stephen because there were only three. 

“Jim” watched him walk off, waiting for a little before they followed. They knew he’d be at the Pokémon Center, so it’d be alright to loose track of him for now. 

After the excitement from the battle faded, the rest of the children went home and Pons went into his house from the back door. His mom greeted him, asking if he’d gotten any challengers today. He excitedly told her about his day as they healed his Pokémon. After they were all back in good health, his Weedle evolved into a Kakuna. They went out to celebrate with dinner and ice cream. 

Usually, they’d stay close to the human, but they’d been beaten so easily by their new choice. 

“Jim” took off their glasses and rubbed their eyes. They didn’t need them to see, but the made them seem bigger, so it helped the disguise. 

The glasses faded from their metallic sheen into a duller color, changing from silver to a translucent pink, before melting back into their hand. The color faded up their arm and all over their body. They began to change shape, limbs shrinking and body contorting until they were just a pink blob. 

They absorbed their pen and paper into their mass before using the shadows to scurry off towards the Pokémon Center.


End file.
